52 Ancestors in 52 weeks: Rebecca Conner (nee Foyne) 1830 - 1910

 

 

Four unidentified women, 1850 from Kristine on Flickr, copyright statement

 

Wouldn't it be great to have photos for all our ancestors?  I think you can tell so much from a photo.  I wish I could say this was a photo of my ancestors but it's not.  It's something I found on the web to try and get an idea of what my ancestor Rebecca Conner would have dressed like in the 1850s when she was in her early 20s.  I suspect she didn't look as grand as these women, but more like this illustration from the book Clarisse by Edward Stirling found on Picryl here.

This is my contribution to Amy Johnson Crow's annual 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks about my ancestor Rebecca Conner (nee Foyne).You can participate too.  Just sign up here..

The theme for this week's post is "curious".  And I am curious about what my ancestor's life would have been like.  So many of our female ancestor's lives are hidden from view for many reasons.  They weren't allowed to own property for many years.  In fact they themselves were considered property.  Women weren't allowed to vote in the UK until 1918 for some and 1928 for most.  When you think about how the law interacted with women, unless they broke the law or required charity through their parish, they were mostly hidden.

So I had to think of other ways to research my female ancestor in this instance.  To do this, I looked at books (I know, a shocking thought) and tried to create a picture of my ancestor's life reading about where she was born, where she lived, constructing a timeline, creating a map and generally accessing any records I could that related to her on various databases e.g. Find My Past, Ancestry, Family Search, The Genealogist and so on.

Of course, there is always more to do, but this is a start.   

Rebecca CONNER (nee FOYNE)  

Ahnentafel Number 17

Context for discovery:

Rebecca is my great-great-grandmother on my paternal side of the family.

Birth Date/Place:

Civil registration didn’t start in the UK until July 1837.  Luckily for us, her birth date (or close enough to it) is recorded on the baptismal register (Born November 3(?) 1830). [i] Rebecca seems to have been the last of five children born to Samuel and Harriet Foyne (nee Grossmith).  The children I have been able to find are as follows:

1815 Louisa – seems to have been christened twice or are they two different Louisas?  There is one christened 23 June 1815 at Bishop’s Waltham, Hampshire, father Saml FOIN and Mother Harriett.  And another on 25 December 1815 at St Mary, Hampshire.  Let’s go with the latter until we can investigate further.[ii] Maybe Harriet’s family lived at Bishop’s Waltham?

1817 Harriet (Jr).  Again, I have found a couple of christenings.  One on 17 October 1817 at St Michael and then another at Romsey on 25 October 1818.  Let’s go with the former for the moment.[iii] 1819 Harriet Jnr is buried aged 2 31 October [iv]

1820 John is christened at Romsey, Hampshire[v]

1823 Samuel Jr is christened at St Martin in the Fields[vi]

1828 George is christened 29 June at St Mary's Parish Southampton [vii]

1830 Rebecca is born 3 November (as per christening record 14 November 1847 in the parish of St James, Clerkenwell)

Baptism Date/Place:

Rebecca was baptised quite late in life at the ripe old age of 17 on 14 November 1847 in the parish of St James, Clerkenwell by the curate CJ Anderson (at least I think that is his name).[viii]  Her birth date (or close enough to it) is recorded on the baptismal register (Born November 3(?) 1830).  Her father is listed as Samuel, cabinet maker and her mother is listed as Harriet. It has been suggested to me that people were often baptised or christened to become eligible for poor relief.  This, in fact, turned out to be the case for the the Foyne family were admitted to the workhouse when Rebecca’s mother Harriet died in 1832 aged 46.  She was buried at St James Clerkenwell.[ix]

Schooling

I have been unable to find any evidence of schooling for Rebecca.

Marriage Dates/Places:

Rebecca married Edward Conner 19 January 1851 at the Parish Church Deptford.[x]  Rebecca was a minor.  Witnesses to the marriage were William Thomas Kness and G.A. Masters.  Rebecca’s father is listed as Samuel Foyne, Cabinet maker.  Rebecca was of Deptford parish and a spinster. They were married after Banns.

Children’s Birth Dates/Places:

Rebecca bore the following children:

1.    Edward James baptised St Paul’s Deptford in 1851[xi]  Edward died 21st December 1854 of croup aged 3 years old.  The croup lasted 4 days according to the death certificate.  Edward was present at the death and registered it on the 21st December.  He was an engineer of 2 Duke Street Portsea.William Hatch was the Registrar.

2.    Rebecca Mary christened St Paul’s Deptford in 1853[xii] Rebecca Mary died 19th December 1854 aged 1 of teething convulsions which lasted 3 days.  Her father who was in attendance registered it on 21st December.  He was an Engineer and lived at 2 Duke Street Portsea. (Death Certificate No. 394)

3.    Edward G born Malta in 1856[xiii] on 20 December according to his Register of service with the Navy.

4.    Clara Rebecca born Porstea 1858[xiv]

5.    Walter born 1860 in Portsea[xv] Walter died 12 December 1864 aged 4 years and 6 months.  He was buried at Portsea Cemetery on 17th December. He was the son of Edward Conner of Wilminster Street Landport.(Portsmouth History Centre Archives G/PGC4/4 through FindMyPast)

6.    Harriet born 1866 [xvi]

7.    Edwin born 1869 in Portsea[xvii]

Major World Events/Disasters/Wars etc

Being married to Edward, Rebecca would have had second-hand knowledge of world events such as the Crimean and Opium Wars.  As an Engineer, Edward would have seen great changes in technology e.g. steam power and ironclad shipping and presumably discussed them excitedly at the dinner table.  Edward served on the Mediterranean fleet and the family travelled with him on at least one occasion to Malta.

Immigration/Migration Dates/Places:

Not applicable – with the exception of trips to Malta.  I have not investigated shipping lists for that.  Would they have travelled on the same ship as Edward?

Map/Residence Dates/Places/Timeline:

Using birth, baptism, death and the census I have been able to find the following addresses for Rebecca:

1830 St James Clerkenwell baptism of Rebecca Foyne.  Her parents were living at 1 Ann’s Place, Pomeroy, Old Kent Road.

The big question of course is where do baby Rebecca and big sister Louisa go when the children’s mother dies 2 years later?

Her father Samuel and his three sons John, Samuel and George aged 12, 9 and 6 were admitted to St Pancras Workhouse Camden London.[xviii] 

1851 In January Rebecca marries Edward Conner and then on Sunday 14 December Edward James is baptised at St Paul's Deptford.  The Connors are recorded as living at Hatcham Road.  Edward describes himself as an Engineer.

1853 - Sunday 16 October christening of Rebecca Mary Connor at St Paul's Deptford.  They are still living at Hatcham Road

1854 – Edward James Conner died December 1854 at Portsea Island, Hampshire as did Rebecca Mary.[xix]  Did they die of cholera?  We need to get their death certificates. TO DO

 

1856 the family must have moved to Malta (according to Edward George’s census record)

1858 the family moves back to Portsea

1861 - Census - Edward and Rebecca are living at 4 Kilminston Street (writing is very faded and difficult to read) in Portsea....they have Edward G aged 5 who was born in Malta, Clara aged 3 who was born in Portsea and Walter aged 9 months who was born in Portsea.  Edward is described as an engine fitter. 

1865 Walter Conner died aged just five years old.[xx]  We need to obtain his death certificate. 

1871 Census - Edward and Rebecca are living at 46 Albert Street Portsea with Edward aged 15, Clara aged 13, Harriet aged 5 and Edwin aged 2.

I am including some paintings of the Portsmouth Dockyard and HMS Calcutta that I found on the net, not because I think that the people in the paintings represent my ancestors but because I was impressed by the proliferation of boats you can see in the background.  They were very crowded waterways!!

Portsmouth Dockyard by James Tissot 1877

 

 

The Gallery of HMS Calcutta (Portsmouth) by James Tissot

On 6th January 1877 Clara, at the age of 19, gives birth to Daisy Clara.  No father's name is recorded but a newspaper article in the Hampshire Telegraph in May 1877 later revealed the father to be Henry James Fulljames, a writer in the Education Department.  He is pursued for maintenance of 5 shillings per week until the child is 13 years of age. Clara is identified in the newspaper article as living at 54 Delhi Street Fratton.  I am hoping that she was living with her family at this stage. By June, Clara has moved to Norristhorpe Board School in Yorkshire as an Assistant and Daisy is fostered out.

Then I lose the family for a bit.  I find a confirmation for a Harriet Connor at the Dockyard Church on Thursday March 18th 1880 under British Army and Navy BMD records on Ancestry..  

Her education record shows that she commenced duties at Roberttown Board School in Yorkshire with her sister by August 1880.

By the 1881 Census - 3 April - Edward G is on an armour-plated first class ship in the Navy called the "Temeraire" in the Grand Harbour, Malta.  He is an engine artificer or REA. Maybe once the girls left home, Rebecca and young Edwin went to Malta to be with their father.

In 1884 Clara marries William Henry Smith and she and her sister emigrate to Australia shortly after.

1891 Census - Edward and Rebecca are living at 31 Regent Street Portsea with sons Edward aged 34 and Edwin aged 22.  Later that year Edward marries Matilda Caroline Oliver who has a 4 year old daughter Elsie from a previous marriage. 

 
1893 - 7 June Edward Senior posts notice in Portsmouth Evening News saying he won't be responsible for any debts incurred by Rebecca. Rebecca is now 63 years old.

 

1897 - circa January Edward moves into lodgings in 63 Ivy Street (Ivy Street is just to the South East of Regent Street between Somers Road and Marys Road - almost opposite Montgomery Road.  I think it might be where Blackfriars Close is today.

1897 - 24 April Edward is admitted to Portsmouth Hospital after shooting.

         -  5 May Edward is then admitted to St James Hospital with dementia (said to have been previously at Portsea Island Union Imbecile ward) The details given, in vol. ref H8/4/4/5 are as follows:

 

Age : 69

Marital Status: Married

Employment: Fitter, HM Dockyard

Previous place of abode: Imbecile wards, Portsea Island Union (now known as St Mary's hospital - Alex's note)

Form of mental disorder: Dementia

Supposed cause of insanity: Senile dementia

Bodily condition : Feeble

1899 - 3 May Edward is discharged as recovered

1903 - 15 April Edward Snr is admitted Portsea Island Union workhouse

         - 17 August Edward Snr discharged to hospital

         -  3 October Edward Snr died.

1910 – Rebecca dies.  Her last known address is 111 St Augustine Road Southsea.[xxi]

Here is a map of all the places Rebecca lived in her life

Military Service Dates/Places:

Not applicable to Rebecca, although it is worth noting that the family spent some time in Malta as that is where Edward G was born due to Edward Snr’s service in the Navy.  I have also found a confirmation for a Harriet Conner in Bermuda.  The age fits the right birth date for Harriet at age 14 and would have happened just before she became a trainee teacher at the Roberttown Board school in 1880.

Occupation Dates/Places:

Not applicable

Organizations/Associations Dates/Places:

Not aware of any interests/hobbies

Death Date/Place:

Rebecca dies in 1910 aged 78 of senile decay at the Parish of Portsmouth Infirmary according to her death certificate.[xxii]  She was described as the Widow of Edward Conner, formerly an engine fitter H.M. Dockyard late of 111 St Augustine Road Southsea. 

Burial Date/Place:

Unfortunately, English death certificates record very little and there are no details of a burial place.

FAN CLUB (Friends and Neighours)

Baptism sponsors/godparents – not mentioned

Marriage Witnesses Officiants – I can’t really read the witnesses’ names properly or at least the first ones.  It looks like William Thomas Kness to me, but it could be Viness and GA Masters

Accompanying passengers on shipping list – not applicable

Newspaper – plenty of newspaper clippings

Census – other lodgers/neighbours

City directories – others living in household/on street

Land Deeds – witnesses/buyers/sellers

Maps – neighbours

Military – unit members

Death – informant/undertaker – the informant on Rebecca’s death certificate was her daughter-in-law E Conner of 142 Chichester Road North End.

Obituary – I cannot find a death notice or obituary for Rebecca.

Probate – I cannot find any record of a will or probate

Cemetery – I do not know where she is buried.  TO DO contact Hampshire Record Office

 In Conclusion:

In summary, we can surmise that Rebecca Foyne came into the world with very little and probably exited with about the same amount.  She was motherless by the age of 2 and her childhood remains a mystery.  We can assume she ended up like her brothers and father in a workhouse but we haven’t been able to find a record of that yet.  Maybe she was adopted out.  She did not feel the need to move to Birmingham with the rest of her family, although I think her elder sister Louisa may have done so.

Rebecca married young and started producing children immediately.  Birth control was not an easy option in those days.  There would have been very real health concerns living in Clerkenwell which was perhaps not the most salubrious of places, as outlined in Dickens’ Oliver Twist.  Edward and Rebecca moved from London to Malta by 1856 after the death of their first two children.  One wonders if they were caught up in the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak as per this article on Wikipeda.

Edward would have been away for months and even years at a time, working in the Navy.  Raising five children single-handedly would have been no mean feat and her eldest daughter Clara faced the challenge of a pregnancy out of wedlock.  Clara and younger sister Harriet left Hampshire for Yorkshire to train to be school-teachers. Clara then married and she and her husband and Harriet left England for Australia in the 1880s.

From the newspaper article in the Portsmouth Evening News in 1893, we learn that the family had money issues. Rebecca and Edward’s youngest son Edwin had joined the Navy in 1890, like his older brother Edward and father.   We can imagine that Edward and Rebecca were learning to live together perhaps for the first time as a couple without the distraction of children. Had Rebecca given money to her eldest daughter to help her get away to Yorkshire and start a new life?  Had she lent money to both daughters to help them leave the country altogether to lead new lives?  Had she continued to give little Daisy Clara's foster family money to support her grandchild? Edward Senior, battling depression, attempted suicide and was admitted to hospital for treatment.  He died in 1903.  Rebecca survived another seven years and I imagine was cared for by her youngest son Edwin and her daughter-in-law. 

It is a grim story but one worth contemplating.  I am conscious of all that I have to be grateful for: having two parents look after me in my youth, access to birth control and a splendid education, labour-saving devices, the ability to own property and vote, drive a car, make informed choices, enjoy good health, benefit from preventative medicine and public health measures like sewerage and clean water. My country hasn't been stolen from me and I haven't had to endure war or famine. I have enough time for leisure and have earned and saved enough for a retirement without worrying about money. I have not had to endure the sorrow of losing my children well before their time. I could go on, but you get the picture.   

To end on a positive note, Rebecca must have been very proud of her daughters’ success in their chosen profession of teaching.  She would have been alive in 1909 by the time her grand-daughter had enrolled in medicine at Sydney University.  Would she have known about it?  Or had senile dementia set in by then?  We will probably never know but we can imagine that perhaps stories handed down by Rebecca to her daughters and then from them to her granddaughter about the fragility of life, encouraged her to pursue medicine, doing her bit to ensure that women did not have to face similar challenges in the future.

 

 

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[i] Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Board of Guardian Records and Church of England Parish Registers. London Metropolitan Archives, London. London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P76/JS1/019

[ii] "England, Hampshire Parish Registers, 1538-1980," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGQ2-R9B2 : 13 February 2021), Louisa Foyn, 25 Dec 1815; citing Christening, , Lancashire Record Office and Hampshire Record Office, England; FHL microfilm 1,041,733.

[iii] "England, Hampshire Parish Registers, 1538-1980," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGQ2-5993 : 13 February 2021), Harriett Foyn, 17 Oct 1817; citing Christening, , Lancashire Record Office and Hampshire Record Office, England; FHL microfilm 1,041,739.

[v] "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N143-H99 : 20 March 2020), John Foyne, 1820.

[vi] Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Board of Guardian Records and Church of England Parish Registers. London Metropolitan Archives, London. London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: DL/T/093/036

[vii] "England, Hampshire Parish Registers, 1538-1980," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGQ2-LXS5 : 13 February 2021), George Foyn, 29 Jun 1828; citing Christening, , Lancashire Record Office and Hampshire Record Office, England; FHL microfilm 1,041,733.

[viii] ibid

[ix] Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data:Board of Guardian Records, 1834-1906 and Church of England Parish Registers, 1813-2003. London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P76/JS1/070

[x] Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P75/PAU/043

[xi] Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P75/PAU/010

[xii] Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

[xiii] Ancestry.com. 1861 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Class: RG 9; Piece: 640; Folio: 11; Page: 15; GSU roll: 542676

[xiv] FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

[xv] FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

[xvi] FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

[xvii] Ancestry.com. 1891 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891; Class: RG12; Piece: 853; Folio: 143; Page: 28; GSU roll: 6095963

[xviii] Ancestry.com. London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764-1930 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: London Workhouse Admission and Discharge Registers held by the London Metropolitan Archives, London, England. Reference Number: P90/PAN1/220

[xix] Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

[xx] FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

[xxi] FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

[xxii] GRO Deeath Certificate 3 April 1910 Number 472 District of Portsmouth Rebecca Conner